On Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at 6:38:43 AM UTC-4, Norbert K wrote:
John Green was Yoko Ono's tarot card reader between 1974 and 1980. He says that in June of 1980, he and Yoko had many meetings in which she performed her songs for him -- so that he could read his cards and determine which of these songs would be hits.
"It was," he says, "a process that made for long afternoons."
On one such occasion, Green attempted to avoid predicting how a song would be received. The following dialogue transpired:
Green: Actually, Yoko, I'm not one to judge. I'm not all that fond of modern music. I prefer more medieval sorts of things, really.
Ono: Well, look in the cards and tell me if this is going to be a number-one hit.
Green: You asked that about the last one. They can't all be number ones, can they?
Ono: Well, they could all be in the top ten. If all my songs on the album are in the top ten, that would leave some room for John's things, too. People will buy the record because of John, you know, but it's important that people hear my work. I've
been doing a of things for years that other people are just starting to do now and calling it new wave and punk rock. I did all that stuff years ago.
Green: That makes a good press release. Tell that to the agent. Pick a few popular groups and say that they were influenced by your work. That will make the readers think twice about your stuff and the groups won't deny it because it's free publicity.
[End of excerpt.]
Green says that he and Ono became embroiled in a debate as to whether John needed security (Yoko denied that there was such a necessity). Eventually, Yoko admitted that her goal was for the new record to make people think of "Yoko and John," not "John
and Yoko," so that she could have an independent musical career. The following dialogue ensued:
Green: The independent career is certainly an obtainable goal. But if you are thinking you are going to outshine John in the popular music market it simply isn't possible. He has too much of a head start.
Ono: But I'm much better than he is! There really has to be a way. Think of John as an old star who is fading and me as the new star on the horizon. So tell me what I can do to make that song I just sang a number-one hit.
Green: You might consider a different arrangement.
Ono: I can't do that! I can't change anything in my music! My songs come directly from the sky. They are given to me in one whole piece. I am not a craftsman who chisels out a piece slowly., I am an artist.
Green: Listen, if Beethoven chiseled out his pieces, I'm sure you can stand to make a few changes.
Ono: I don't care what some dead composer supposedly did. He wasn't an artist anyway. If you think that being a craftsman is art, then I shit on you because you don't know anything about art.
[End of excerpt.]
LOL!! Yoko really thought that she was better than John (rising star), expecting to have several of her 'songs' in the top 10, and Beethoven was irrelevant??? This can't be true - can it?
Hilarious.
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